Before the advent of the Internet and the popularity of “online music,” users traditionally purchased music through physical media (e.g., tape records, audio CDs, etc.). However, more recently, with the advancements in Internet technology and availability of high-quality music renderings over the Internet, consumers prefer to obtain music directly from digital music service providers “DSPs” (e.g., Apple iTunes®, lala media, inc., Slacker®, Zune®, etc.). Some DSPs offer users the ability to download a copy of the actual music file on a permanent or “limited download” basis, while other music stores stream the music (without actually providing a file for downloading) for the user to listen to. The users typically pay such DSPs on a per-song or a per-period subscription basis, while some DSPs operate on an advertising-supported model.
The DSPs do not typically hold a “copyright interest” in the sound recordings (“recordings” or “tracks”) that they make available to their consumers, or in the musical compositions (“compositions” or “songs”) that may be embodied in those sound recordings. Instead, the DSPs must obtain copyright licenses to use (e.g., by reproducing and distributing) a particular sound recording and any musical composition(s) embodied in such sound recording, and, in exchange, compensate (e.g., in terms of royalty payments) one or more entities that hold a copyright interest in the particular sound recording and the underlying composition(s).
Music licensing in the United States is based on the protection that U.S. copyright law provides for such rights holders. The Copyright Act of the United States (title 17 of the U.S. Code) provides for copyright protection in “sound recordings.” The U.S. copyright office defines “sound recordings” as “works that result from the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds, but not including the sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work.” So, a “sound recording” is just that—a recording of sounds. Common examples include recordings of music, drama, or lectures. Sound recordings are typically owned and licensed by record companies or “labels”. A given sound recording may embody one or more compositions, or “musical works” (i.e., the notes and lyrics), which compositions have copyright protection under the Copyright Act that is separate from the copyright in any sound recording which may embody that composition. Each such composition may have one or more copyright owners or co-owners, which are typically music publishers, or simply “publishers”. Accordingly, a sound recording may include multiple “publisher-shares,” representing entities that have a copyright interest in at least a portion of at least one musical composition embodied in a given sound recording. In some instances, a “publishing administrator” works on behalf of such entities, which may include, for example, a music publisher, the composer(s) (i.e., the person(s) who wrote the music of the composition), the author(s) (i.e., the person(s) who wrote the lyrics), etc. In a typical example, the composer and the author share co-ownership of the actual copyright to the musical composition with the publisher, who represents the composition in business dealings.
In order to comply with the Copyright Act, a DSP would have to identify each rights holder associated with nearly every sound recording ever used, reproduced, or distributed by the DSP, and attempt to obtain licenses from (and make corresponding royalty payments to) such rights holders. Because record companies (as the typical owners of sound recordings) represent a limited group of concentrated copyright ownership and typically control 100% of the copyright in any given recording, DSPs are usually able to efficiently license from and account to record companies without assistance from third parties. In contrast, the ownership of musical compositions tends to be far less concentrated, and split ownership of individual songs is commonplace. As a result, DSPs often turn to third party service providers to obtain licenses from, and account to the various owners of those compositions.
Overall, the examples herein of some prior or related systems and their associated limitations are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of existing or prior systems will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading the following Detailed Description.